Who Was Virgil Abloh: Career, Biography and Legacy

If you are reading this, we do not doubt that you are already familiar with Virgil Abloh. Famously known as the genius behind the luxury streetwear label Off-White and covetable sneaker collaborations with Nike, Louis Vuitton, and more, the American creative was one of the highly respected names in various industries — notably fashion, footwear, and music. But with great sadness, the designer bid his farewell to the world in November 2021 after battling cancer since his initial diagnosis in 2019.

With that said, Virgil Abloh continued to inspire the masses with his unique vision and design despite his condition. The fashion, art, music, and cultural landscapes were his creative playground, naturally inspiring the younger generation and earning the title of one of the most influential people in the world.

From the ongoing Off-White x Nike collaborations to the Louis Vuitton Air Force 1 sneakers and anything else in the works, we want to show the world today and the many generations to come how Virgil Abloh took over the fashion world by storm.

Virgil Abloh was an American fashion designer, entrepreneur, trained architect, and DJ who founded and led the high-end streetwear brand Off-White in 2013. In 2018, Virgil was appointed Artistic Director of Menswear at Louis Vuitton.

Before his meteoric rise in the fashion landscape, Virgil worked at a Chicago print shop where he crossed paths with Kanye West’s entourage and eventually led him to become the art director of his creative content label DONDA.

Virgil Abloh’s participation in DJing includes his time at #BEENTRILL#, then his first clothing brand Pyrex Vision in 2012. What happened next, as they say, was history.

Virgil Abloh was born on September 30, 1980, in Rockford, just outside of Chicago. Born and raised by Ghanaian immigrant parents, Virgil’s mother was a seamstress and taught him everything he needed to know about altering and constructing garments.

Combining that with his interest in graffiti art, skateboarding graphic tees from ALIFE and Santa Cruz, and band tees like N.W.A and Nirvana, Virgil eventually created his personal style in art and fashion later in his career.

Since his early days, Virgil has also shown his love for music and footwear. After days of skating, he would return home to play his father’s record collection and even draw his own Nike designs that he would later send on to the company. His favourite shoes were, of course, Nike Jordans.

Throughout his time in high school in the late ‘90s, Virgil was DJing at house parties and small local events. Invisibl Skratch Piklz, Roc Raida, and A-Trak were some of Virgil's early inspirations.

Virgil’s passion and experience in music undeniably contributed to his participation in #BEENTRILL#, DONDA, and even working with A$AP Rocky in the later years.

In 2002, Virgil completed a degree in civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin. Believe it or not, his parents were insistent that he finishes studying engineering before pursuing art.

Rumour has it that Virgil skipped out on his final critique on graduation day for a meeting with Kanye West's management team. However, Virgil and Ye did not work together until the next few years.

Virgil then graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a master's degree in architecture. During his time at IIT, Virgil studied the works of Mies van der Rohe (a famous German-American architect), which taught him how to blend art, craft, and design into one.

In addition, Virgil once stated that a Rem Koolhaus building on campus piqued his interest and opened his gateway into fashion. Rem Koolhaus is a renowned Dutch architect and founder of OMA who, at the time, worked with PRADA.

While studying at IIT, Virgil began writing for a blog called The Brilliance and learnt how to create his designs using Adobe Suite. Thanks to his newfound skill, he eventually secured a job at a Chicago print shop, where his life changed forever.

Virgil encountered Kanye West's friend, Don C, at the Custom Kings printshop, which resulted in a job offer. Virgil had already become Kanye's creative consultant just at the age of 22 years old.

In 2009, Virgil and Kanye (Founder and creator of YEEZY) started to attend fashion shows in Paris. Notably, a street photo of the duo with Don C, Taz Arnold, Chris Julian, and Farnsworth Bentley outside the COMME des GARÇONS Homme went viral for their outlandish outfits. Whilst it has been mocked through the years, and even made it into a South Park episode, Virgil pointed out that that was the entire point.

Virgil said: "We were a generation that was interested in fashion and weren't supposed to be there. We saw this as our chance to participate and make current culture. In a lot of ways, it felt like we were bringing more excitement than the industry was".

Virgil Abloh and Kanye West then secured an internship at Fendi in Rome. Some of their daily tasks included typical office duties such as photocopying, printing, and even going on coffee runs. Michael Burke (who was CEO of Fendi at the time) told The New York Times: "I paid them $500 a month! I was impressed with how they brought a whole new vibe to the studio and were disruptive in the best way". Their internship at the Italian luxury label allowed the duo to gain some first-hand experience in fashion design.

In the same year, Abloh and Don C opened up a concept fashion store named RSVP Gallery in Chicago. The retail space carried a wide range of streetwear and high-fashion labels such as Raf Simons, Justin Saunders (JJJJound), and eventually, Virgil's own Off-White.

In 2010, Virgil officially became the creative director at Kanye West's creative agency DONDA, taking responsibility for making album covers and set designs.

Virgil successfully directed Kanye West's "Watch the Throne" featuring Jay Z, for which the collective later earned a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package.

It was Kanye's DONDA collective that set up designers like Abloh, Justin Saunders (JJJJound) and Matthew Williams (ALYX and Givenchy), who later came together with Heron Preston and Florencia Galarza to form DJ collective "#BEENTRILL#" in 2012.

Virgil's initial step into the fashion scene on his own was in 2012 with his first clothing brand Pyrex Vision, in New York. Its key pieces included deadstock Ralph Lauren flannels and Champion t-shirts, screen printed with "Pyrex" text branding and the number "23" to represent his childhood hero, Michael Jordan. Pyrex pieces retailed for around $500, and Virgil received some backlash when a Complex article uncovered the source of the blanks.

Pyrex Vision was later shut down after a rumoured lawsuit by Pyrex (the famous glass dishes manufacturer). Anyways, Virgil saw Pyrex Vision as more of a passion project than a brand — and he already had a bigger plan in the works at the time that he didn't know would become one of the biggest achievements in his career.

That same year, Virgil's #BEENTRILL# DJ collective was dropping in-house graphic tees and collaborative pieces with renowned names in the industry like Hood by Air, California skate and skate label Stüssy, and many others.

Virgil Abloh launched his now, world-famous label, Off-White in 2013. Virgil moved to Milan to join the New Guards Group (the financiers behind Palm Angels, Heron Preston, and more). Off-White refers to the grey area between black and white, symbolising the gap between streetwear and designer clothing.

Some early Off-White pieces slightly resembled Pyrex Vision, featuring large screen printed graphics on the back. But eventually, signature quotation marks, zip-tie tags, arrow motifs, and hazard lines instantly became recognisable to everyone.

Off-White's entrance into the fashion scene at the time was perfect. The rise of streetwear (particularly, hypebeast culture) and social media influence amplified Virgil's name and Off-White across the globe.

Thanks to Virgil's celebrity connections, brand endorsements from ASAP Rocky, Travis Scott, Gigi Hadid, and many other notorious names, pushed the brand even further into the spotlight. Speaking to The New York Times, Virgil claimed that the brand was "the first luxury brand to have been built from social media".

Off-White stores then began to pop up in fashion hotspots like Milan, Tokyo and Paris, making them a must-visit place on everyone's list including holidaymakers who probably don't have much access to international brands.

The brand embraced youth culture and gained a massive cult following. Teens as young as 13 years old were seen lined up outside their favourite stores such as Supreme, "XO Tour Lif3", and of course, Off-White, waiting to get their hands on the latest drops.

It wasn't long before Virgil Abloh was nominated for the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers. The nominations included some of the most important people in the fashion industry, such as J.W. Anderson, Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld, Raf Simons, Riccardo Tisci, and many others.

In 2016, Virgil Abloh debuted his first menswear collection on the runway at Paris Fashion Week. Off-White's Fall/Winter 2016 range showcased semi-formal and semi-street pieces with signature air quotes.

At the same time, Abloh was introduced into the BoF 500 (Business of Fashion 500) as "one of the people shaping the $2.4 trillion fashion industry".

2017 was an exhausting but productive year for Virgil. Some of his achievements include opening up for Travis Scott on tour, directing Lil Uzi Vert's iconic "XO Tour Lif3" music video, and locking in a DJ residency with Wynn Nightlife in Las Vegas under his stage alias, Flat White.

When he was absent from the music and fashion scene, he was at the MoCA in Chicago and the MoMA in New York planning museum exhibitions or guest-lecturing across the country.

A collaboration with Swedish furniture company IKEA in the same year then had everyone's eyebrows raised. To many, the collaboration between a clothing label and furniture manufacturer was bizarre. But if you think of it this way, it was something to be expected considering Virgil's qualification in civil engineering and architecture.

The duo stated in a press statement: "Together, IKEA and OFF-WHITE look for ways to help create a home for millennials who are just starting out their lives".

The partnership delivered a range of affordable house essentials, each branded with Off-White signature air quotes.

The Off-White x Nike "The 10" collection was unquestionably the most hyped drop of the year. Virgil teamed up with the Swoosh team to deconstruct and reassemble ten classic Nike sneakers: Air Jordan 1, Air Max 90, Air Presto, Air VaporMax, Blazer Mid, Air Force 1, Air Max 97, Zoom Vaporfly, React Hyperdunk, and Converse Chuck Taylors. Each came with Off-White's signature elements like the coloured zip ties and air quotes.

The method of release was no ordinary drop either. Abloh teamed up with Rosie Lee Creative Studio to host the "OFF-CAMPUS" event, offering creative experiences at London's NikeLab for lucky customers to get involved with the process. Who would have known that Virgil's Nike shoe drawing as a kid would turn into reality? Virgil was truly ahead of his time, there's no doubting that.

To this day, the Off-White x Nike "The Ten" sneakers remain some of the highly coveted and most expensive sneakers on the secondary market.

After collaborating with Nike and following up the initial collaboration with more designs, including a collection for American tennis player Serena Williams, Virgil then went on to run the French luxury fashion house, Louis Vuitton, which many saw coming due to rumours and teasers circulating since the year before. At this point, Virgil was unstoppable, ticking off boxes as if they were daily house chores.

With Kim Jones passing the role of Artistic Director of men's wear to Virgil Abloh, there was no denying that everyone felt doubtful at first. The transition from a street-focused label to a high-end aesthetic is no ordinary task. Fortunately, it was already within Virgil's forte.

Louis Vuitton's Virgil-designed pieces were a huge hit. Seasonal collection pieces maintained the brand's luxury heritage while also bringing in some streetwear motifs, making them the all-time grails of many. Virgil's time at Louis Vuitton also welcomed new names into the fashion house, including the world-famous South Korean K-pop group BTS.

Abloh directed his first Louis Vuitton menswear collection at Paris Fashion Week in June 2018. During his celebratory walk down the runway, he embraced his mentor Kanye in an emotional finish to an iconic show.

You would have thought that Virgil's hectic schedule at Louis Vuitton would keep him away from working on other projects. In 2021, Virgil jumped into Dunk hype and released 50 unique pairs of Nike Dunk Lows allocated with numbers Lot 01 to Lot 50, which he titled the "Dear Summer" collection or "The 50".

Specific lots across America, Asia, and Europe were assigned and released exclusively via SNKRS Exclusive Access which ran over a week long.

If that wasn't enough to satisfy greedy resellers and sneaker collectors alike, Virgil continued to pump out several other Off-White x Nike trainers using models he's never used before.

Towards the backend of 2021, Virgil Abloh tragically passes away at the age of 41. The announcement was first posted on the designer's official Instagram account with the caption: "We are devastated to announce the passing of our beloved Virgil Abloh, a fiercely devoted father, husband, son, brother, and friend."

The shocking news then revealed that Abloh was secretly battling a rare aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma. While seeking treatment since his diagnosis in 2019, Virgil still focused on his work and thrived to become the best role model for the following generations.

Virgil Abloh's final show for Louis Vuitton at Paris Fashion Week was a historical moment. Before his passing on the 28th of November 2021, Virgil had already completed the autumn/winter 2022 collection.

The “Louis Dreamhouse” set portrayed a mix of themes such as magical, heaven, and childlike, as a way to express imagination. Abloh is a perfect example of someone who followed his dreams as a child, never stopped, and turned them into reality.

Alongside the recent drop of the Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force 1s, Virgil has left us plenty of other designs to enjoy and remember him by.

Needless to say, Virgil has made a significant impact on our lives and will be missed forever.

Rest in peace Virgil Abloh.

September 30, 1980 – November 28, 2021